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CLARE couples who want to marry with the backdrop of a romantic view or to have a civil ceremony in the hotel where their reception is to be held will have to go join a queue more than a year long in Limerick.

At present, although some of Clare’s most beautiful spots would get the thumbs up as places where civil ceremonies would be allowed, staffing at the Clare registry offices is such that all civil marraiges are being dealt with through Limerick.

And with the recruitment ban in the public service, staff in the Limerick office can’t meet all the requests for civil ceremonies.

Bride-to-be Jennifer Flynn from Westbury was told the next date on which a registrar could come to her chosen hotel is a weekday a year from now.

“I was amazed because I was told three months notice was necessary but I never would have thought they were so booked up,” she told The Clare People .

Staff at the the Ennis registrar’s office confirmed that civil ceremonies for couples in Clare are currently being conducted in the Limerick office.

“We go through Limerick for the civil ceremonies at present. The couples have to contact the registrar there and give three months notice and the Limerick office will take it from there,” she said.

Sources in the registrars office also confirmed that the staff there are stretched and could not meet the growing demand in Clare for civil marraiges in situ.

For Jennifer, who plans to marry partner Colm next year, it means thinking it out again.

“We have the option of getting married in the registry office and then going to our reception and that’s probably what we will have to do. Neither of us are religious so we don’t want a church wedding. But the registry office seems so cold and impersonal and it means we’ll only be able to have our witnesses and a couple of other people at the actual marraige. I’m sure the registrar is very nice and will do everything possible to make it special but why make it legal to marry outside the office and then not have enough people to make that a possibility?” she said.

THE sun shone on Tubber over the weekend as hundreds descended on north Clare for the annual Tubber Agricultural Show. One of the main attractions of Saturday were the show-jumping classes, where a large entry ensured a high standard in all competitions.

The pony classes saw a notable double win for Noelle Barry who took the overall first place 1.1 and 1.2 metre classes on Cottage Flight. Other winners in the pony classes were Amy Johnston on Amber Leaf, Kevin McCabe on Cradle Oberdash, Olga Burke on Little Bob and John Murray on Heather Molly.

The main competition in the horse section was dominated by Gabriel Slattery, who took an unprecedented treble in the Connacht Grand Prix. He took first place on Castlelawn Kannan, second on Captain’s Magic Touch and third place on Ballintoghr Bud. Fourth place in the competition went to Stephen Egan on Le One with John McManus on Dino coming in in fifth place.

The Amateur Leddy League and HSI Qualifier was won by Peter Brady on Hollymount Cruise Hill, while Jacinta Fahy won the Amateur Speed on Chicken Wall.

Other winners in the horse section were Amanda Fahy who won the 1.1 metre competition on Lackyle Limited Edition, and Niamh Quinn on Cloon Cappain who won the 1.2 metre competition.

Meanwhile, on Friday, the Rosengrave Perpetual Cup for the Best Pin of Lambs went to Frank Donoghue from Tubber. There was also a huge interest in the dog show on Saturday and the festivities continued on Sunday with a fun day with food and craic in and around Finnerty’s Pub.

HOMES IN seaside areas in Clare are selling at the moment, while more cash buyers have come into the market in recent weeks. However, overall house prices in Clare are showing no signs of increasing.

According to the latest Daft House Price Report for the second quarter of this year, house prices fell on average by 5.1 per cent. The average asking price for a house in June of this year was € 196,000, which is a fall of 47 per cent on the 2007 peak, according to Daft.

According to Daft, a two-bed house in Clare currently has an asking price of € 108,000. A threebed house has a tag of € 155,000; a four-bed is priced at € 229,000 and a five-bed has an asking price of € 279,000.

These prices are decreases on the figures, compared with the first quarter of 2010. Then, a two-bed house in Clare had an asking price of € 144,000, while a three bed was priced at € 194,000. A fourbed house was priced at € 276,000, while a five-bed was deemed to have a price of € 326,000.

Ennis-based auctioneer Diarmuid McMahon of Sherry Fitzgerald McMahon said yesterday that the Daft figures “are consistent on asking prices. They are not on sold prices. Prices nationally have fallen by between 40 per cent to 60 per cent between 2007 and now and have fallen in Clare by between 40 per cent and 60 per cent”.

“We’re seeing a lot more cash buyers coming into the market. There are apartments for sale around the town of Ennis that you would get rent for between € 450 and € 500 per month and that you would buy for between € 50,000 and € 60,000,” said Mr McMahon.

“The majority of our sales now are cash buyers. They are coming back into the market now because they can see value,” he added.

“Some of the seaside properties are selling well. We are selling a lot in Kilkee; selling for prices the vendors are willing to accept,” he said.

Some property owners in seaside resorts are not losing money because they bought before the peak in 2007.

“They are selling. The prices are down considerably,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Mahon predicts, “I’d say the best scenario by the end of this year is stabilisation. I think that stabilisation is starting to happen in better locations. Good quality houses will trade at prices that I think will be the same in six months’ time. I think eventually, in four to five to 10 years, you will get price increases but they would be in line with inflation.”

THE future of the proposed Ballyvaughan to Galway ferry link will be decided this week as an independent survey group arrives in north Clare to speak to locals and complete the feasibility study which will be used to determine whether the project should continue.

The Spyria Partnership will be going door to door in the Ballyvaughan, Fanore, Kilfenora and Lisdoonvarna areas this week, asking local people to complete a survey.

This survey, as well as market research into the commercial feasibility of the link, will be used by the survey team to make a recommenda- tion on the future of the ferry link.

A meeting of all stakeholders will also take place in St John’s Hall in Ballyvaughan on Friday morning from 10am. This meeting is designed to attract local business people and to allow anyone who may be indirectly affected by the link being established to have their voice heard on the project.

“This meeting is aimed at guesthouses and any tourism attractions who could benefit from this and from having more people travelling to and from Galway on the ferry,” said Gwen Ryan, chair of the Ballyvaughan Bay Hop Group.

“It is about teasing out how the service would work. This is a com- munity-based service so we want to get people’s opinions on this. We don’t have a commercial operator behind this just yet.

“They are also going to go from house to house with a survey for the people who might think of using the service to commute themselves. We will be trying to get a leaflet into every house in the area and we also have a survey that can be completed on-line.

“We had a survey in the past but the Spyria people have a more detailed survey that they need to have completed for the feasibility study. So if anyone has completed the old online survey, we would ask them in particular to come back to the website and complete the new survey again if they want to have their voices heard.”

The group from Spyria Partnership will be in the Ballyvaughan area from July 6 to 9.

The response that they receive here will largely decide the outcome of the feasibility study.

“The people who I have contacted all think that this is a wonderful idea so I guess what I am trying to do now is make everyone aware of what is going on, especially the people who are stakeholders and will benefit from this ferry link if it becomes a reality,” continued Gwen.

Anyone interested in completing the new survey should contact www. ballyvaughanbayhop.com.

AFTER more than 15 years of local campaigning, the dangerously corroded metal fence that protects the tens of the thousands of summer beach-goers from a 40-foot drop onto the rock at Lahinch beach is to be replaced.

The metal alloy fence, which was described as rust-proof when it was first erected in 1982, has been completely eroded by rust over the last 20 years, making it structurally unsound and, according to locals, a dangerous accident waiting to happen.

The fence, which runs for more than 140 feet along the most dangerous section of the beach, was damaged by construction work in the 1990s, with many sections simply breaking away.

A delegation from the Lahinch Community Council met with local engineers from Clare County Council in June, with the replacement of the corroded bars the top item on the agenda.

“The community council have been campaigning for these bars to be replaced for 15 years now so we are delighted with the news that they are going to be replaced,” said Gerry Hartigan of the Lahinch Community Council.

“When they were first put up, we were told that the poles were made from a special alloy and that they would not be affected by rust – but that proved not to be the case. Clare County Council have done their best to maintain them as best they could but it really is great news that they are to be replaced.”

Newly appointed Lahinch Cllr Bill Slattery (FG) welcomed the € 48,750 in funding for the project but said that Clare County Council must now get working on completing the much awaited Lahinch Prom Master Plan.

“This work has been delayed for too long already, due to the lack of funding. Now that the Government have resolved this issue, there can be no further delays in getting the job done,” he said.

“I am delighted with the work that has been done in Lahinch in recent years, particularly the new lifeguard facility and the recently opened playground. I am also calling on the council to speed up the completion of the much needed and long awaited Master Plan for the prom in Lahinch.

“There are hundreds of thousands of euro generated in car parking charges in Lahinch each year. The village needs this Master Plan in order to make the resort a world-class tourist destination.”

Meanwhile, a total of € 26, 250 has also been allocated to repair and upgrade the existing slipway at Liscannor. This project, which has been a long-term goal for Ennistymon-based Cllr Richard Nagle (FF) will see much needed repair works undertaken at the pier.

A BURNING candle in the sitting room of a house may have caused the death of a 53-year-old man in a house fire over the weekend.

Michael Kennedy died after a fire broke out at a newly-renovated singlestorey home on the Grange Road in Ballina in the early hours of Sunday.

Two other people – Mr Kennedy’s wife and a friend – who were also in the house at the time, escaped from another room. However, Mr Kennedy became trapped in the sitting room.

He was pronounced dead at the scene and his body was taken to Limerick Regional Hospital for a post mortem examination, which was carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis.

The fire broke out after 2am. The scene was preserved and a Garda technical examination took place on Sunday.

“The fire started in the sitting room in the house. The sitting room was very badly damaged,” said Inspector John O’Sullivan of Killaloe Garda Station, who is heading up the enquiry into the tragic accident.

He said the two women who escaped from the house were “badly shaken” but fortunately did not receive serious burn injuries. Gardaí have taken statements from the ladies, in an effort to determine the exact cause of the fire.

THE new First Citizen of Clare has told his fellow councillors and local government chiefs that cutting rates is key to kick-starting a resurgence in the county’s economic fortunes.

Mayor of Clare Pat Hayes has said that tackling the rates problem within the county will be a priority during his year in office, even if it means introducing cut-backs in other areas of Clare County Council’s yearly budget.

“The rates issue is critical,” Mayor Hayes told The Clare People . “A lot of businesses in Clare are struggling to survive. They have cut every other cost, but when you take the rates, from commercial rates to sewerage and water charges, it is a huge burden on ordinary businesses.

“The small businesses across the county are the ones that are going to get us out the trouble we’re in. They’re the ones that are going to provide employment. Clare County Council needs to recognise this.

“If cutting rates means we have to cut services, they we have to look at that. It we don’t do something, our rates base is going to fall. And with new charges that are put in place by the government, it’s important that the funding from these charges filter back into local government immediately.

“In the next few months, prior to any budget, I want all councillors in Clare to have a real look at what we can do to make this council leaner – it is important to look how we do all our business in the sake of finances. If we don’t continue to make strides in that, our rates base is going to fall. It is a key thing for me as mayor of Clare,” he added.

“I’m following in the footsteps of former councillors from East Clare who served in the chair,” Cllr Hayes told fellow councillors at the Clare County Council AGM last Thursday. “Sean Brady from 1932 to ’69, Johnny Moloney from 1984 to ’85 and Colm Wiley from 1993 to ’95. They were Fianna Fáil men as well and it was great honour to follow people like that,” he added.

“We have great hope right across this county. We as a council have been putting in place policies to lead this county forward. You can see that in the County Development Plan in the Clare Tourism Forum.

“What’s good about Clare is its people, its culture and its sharing capacity to help each other. We need to celebrate the good things of Clare and come out with a positive attitude of celebrating that. We need to do that on a monthly basis. Every month we should look at an aspect of our county and celebrate that.”

47-year-old Mr Hayes is the fifth Fianna Fáil mayor of Clare since the title was created in 2001 and the 20th chair of the county council from the party from the Fianna Fáil benches.

A NEW group which aims to fight for the right of the unemployed and marginalized in Clare will be officially formed in the coming week. The group, which is a collection of employed and unemployed volunteers, is currently working under the name ‘Hope for the Marginalized’ but is aiming to host an AGM before the end of July and officially launch the group.

The first aim of the group will be to lobby for practical and inexpensive changes to education, social welfare and local business strategies which they feel could have a massive effect on the lives of young unemployed people.

“We have found that we can work towards and very workable ideas that we could lobby the Government to introduce changes which will make our country a better place to live in,” said Ennis woman Paula McNamara of Hope for the Marginalized.

“At the moment the unemployment crisis is so massive, especially in this part of the county, so our first aim to work in that area but after that we would hope to broaden out our work to other parts of the community who are marginalized.

“The group isn’t just people who are unemployed – it is a wide cross section of people in Clare. If anyone who has any ideas that they think might help the situation then we’d love to hear from them.

“We are at a crossroads now, we have to make a choice about how we want this country to be. Do we want it to be focused about bailing out the banks and forget about the weak and vulnerable or should we think about this in a different, more sensible way.”

Some of the ideas put forward by the group include targeted training in universities, colleges, VECs and FÁS, which would see a greater focus on offering courses in areas where there is a realistic prospect of a job.

The group is also looking for all people on social welfare to be given a single case worker to oversee every aspect of the case, from benefits to retraining opportunities and is calling for a greater emphasis to be put on alternative local opportunities for creating jobs.

“We know that the country is broke – that is why we are not calling for big schemes, we are looking at practical solutions which could help drag us out of this situation,” continued Paula.

Anyone who wants to be involved in Hope for the Marginalized can contact Paula on hopeforthemarginal ized@gmail.com.

VOLUNTEERISM in Clare is at an all time high as unemployed people in the county offer their skill for free to worthy organisations in the county.

Figures released from by the CAO last week reveal that the numbers signing on in the county rose by almost 200 last month – the first monthly increase since the Live Register hit its all time high in the county in January.

The news that there were 10,400 signing on in the county in June is disappointing as it comes after four months of straight drops in the the Live Register figure in the county.

The chairperson of the the Clare Citizen Information Service, Paul Woulfe, said that while there is no sign in the number of unemployed dropping, there are now many schemes to help them when they do find themselves out of work.

“We are seeing more and more people coming into us – people are still being let go and the trend is not changing at all at the moment. But there are a lot of schemes there to help people and the information about them is changing all the time. We would advice anyone who becomes unemployed to come into the office to see us or to look at any of our websites to see what their options are,” he said.

“The big thing for people when they lose their job is dealing with the immediate financial issues. A lot of people have mortgages and other expenditures so they have to change their budget a lot. If there is serious debt there or if they are finding that they are running into debt then we can refer them onto MABS who can help them with that.

“We do help by advising people on how they can fill their time in a good way. They might be interested in doing some voluntary work so we would be sending them onto the Clare Volunteer Centre who could assess their skills.

“People have more time on their hands than they are used to so we would be encouraging people to look at their options for upskilling and pointing them towards the VEC or other organisations. Or we could send them to the Adult Guidance Service if they want to get back as a mature student or to a jobs facilitator at the social welfare office if someone has an idea and wants to go out on their own. So we can look at the various options and then advise them where they can go and get more information and support that can help them.”

For help from the Citizen Information Service check out losingyourjob. ie or call into the Clare Citizen Information Services offices on Bank Place in Ennis.

A COMMUNITY is fighting back against vandals who smashed headstones in the historic Kilquane cemetary. The group, who put in massive work to restore the cemetery, are back in action and this time they are erecting a CCTV camera to stop further attacks on the Parteen burial place.

The pole for the camera was erected at the weekend, and local gardaí, as well as the garda helicopter, have been brought in to protect the cemetery.

“There hasn’t been as much damage done in that graveyard since the Williamites smashed headstones 300 years ago,” said Donal Ó Riain, a local historian who was closely involved in the restoration work. “This is one of the most historic structures in the parish. It dates back to the sixth century and the church building dates back to just after the time of St Patrick,” he told The Clare People .

“We’re putting up the camera and we’re working on repairing the headstones. We also had a meeting and invited the two local guards and they have agreed to keep a particular eye on the area.”

Local Fianna Fail councillor, Cathal Crowe, has been closely involved with the cemetery committee and he is helping them get the right camera for the job. “I’ve also asked the garda helicopter patrol, which flies over the city, to see if they can hover over Kilquane, particularly at weekends as it’s an isolated patch of ground,” he said.

The CCTV equipment will cost a large amount of money, but Donal is confident that they will achieve their goal. “We’ve always had fantastic support from the community for anything we’ve done at Kilquane because it’s such an historic structure. We’re having a fundraiser in the Tailrace Bar in Parteen this Friday, with Larry McEvoy playing. I hope we will get the same support we have always had,” said Donal.